Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority has  announced that the second edition of  the SIAL Middle East, the regional edition of one of the world's largest food industry exhibitions, will  take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition center  November 21-23, 2011.  Held under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, SIAL Middle East will be a defining event for the region's food industry. The first edition of the exhibition, which was held in November last year,  had attracted well over 7000 visitors. Around 30% of the visitors  came from outside abroad, representing  different segments of businessmen, industrialists and professionals.

The Organizing Committee of the exhibition estimated that business deals worth  $ 250 million (AED 917.5 million) were inked during the first edition of the exhibition, marking a significant leap for the food industry in the region. The first edition of SIAL Middle East had seen the participation of around 400 exhibitors representing international companies from 40 countries around the world. About 80% of them were coming to the region for the first time. They returned from the exhibition convinced that Abu Dhabi was their best gateway to the large consumer base in the Middle East, North Africa and South and East Asia.

Mohamed Jalal Al Reyaysa, Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee for SIAL said that the tremendous success of the first edition of SIAL Middle East convinced the Authority that it was important to host it a second time. "The second edition of the event will turn out to be even larger in terms of participation, exhibition area and the number of visitors. We are planning an attractive boucquet of events and exhibits which are chosen meticulously and tailor-made for the consumers in the region," he added. ADFCA has put together an organizing committee tasked with all aspects of the exhibition. Requests for participation has exceeded our expectations this time. We are confident to attract the participation a much greater number of companies from countries around the world. The participants stand to gain a unique vantage point from which they can reach out to vibrant markets across the Middle East, North Africa  and South and East Asia," he hoped. 

The exhibition last year hosted companies from many countries, including Turkey, France, China, Taiwan, Germany, India, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Malaysia, Thailand, United States Nations, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Canada and Hong Kong.